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Dranginis

RÖMERSTROM Gladiators Trier oblige Kyle Dranginis
The RÖMERSTROM Gladiators continue to work on the squad for the upcoming season. The 24-year-old Guard Kyle Dranginis is the first new addition to the Trier basketball team. The American changes from the Danish first division SISU Copenhagen to the Moselle and signs a one-year contract.

After a total of five years and 143 games for the Gonzaga Bulldogs (Gonzaga University / Washington), the 1.96m New Gladiator at SISU Copenhagen completed his first professional season (2016/2017).

In the dressing-up of the capital team around Chethrainer Nathaniel Eskinazi, Dranginis scored an average of 14.7 points, 4.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game and stood 36 times in the starting 5. In the table of the highest Danish game class he reached the playoff semi-final and Was voted "Player of the Month" last January.

Now the 24-year-old changes to the RÖMERSTROM Gladiators Trier and signs a contract for the coming season.

Headcoach Marco van den Berg is delighted at the commitment of the American Guards: "Kyle is a very intelligent player, who will help us through his diverse abilities. He has enjoyed a great education at the Gonzaga Bulldogs and is versatile in positions 1 to 3. In addition to playing, he convinced us with his leadership qualities. That's also why I'm glad we could take him to Trier. "

The new entry itself looks very positively at his upcoming task at the Mosel: "I am looking forward to my first season in Germany and the new season with the RÖMERSTROM Gladiators. I will do my best to achieve the best possible results with my team colleagues. "

With which number Dranginis for the Moselleers on Korbjagd will go, is at the present time not fixed.

Up to lateral. Tough to tell for me as I don't know much of the Danish league (his old team) but it is likely not very good. This is the German Pro-A league or the 2nd division that doesn't play in any international leagues. Not that great of a league but likely a step up from the Danish league. It would have been nice so see him get to a BBL team (1st German division).

For comparison Pangos and Daye are in the EuroLeague (highest level in Europe). Gary Bell is on a mediocre team in the French Pro-A (1st Division) which would sort of be equivalent to the German first division.

Young guys like Draginis need to keep grinding and work up the ladder. This seems a small step in the right direction.

It shows how surprising it was to see Pangos get to the EuroLeague by his 2nd Pro year.

One other thing to note with Europe. The team and international league they play in is typically more important than the domestic league in determining the quality of play.
Pangos's Zalgiris is Lithuanian and playing in the Lithuanian domestic league which is not very strong. However Zalgiris is the strongest team in Lithuania by far, has a long history of success and plays in the EuroLeague which is Europe's strongest international league by far and easily the 2nd best league in the world after the NBA. It doesn't matter than Pangos plays in the Lithuanian league, but it matters big time that he is on Zalgiris.

All the decent domestic leagues in Turkey, Italy, Greece, Russia, Germany, France, Serbia, Israel etc. have a couple very good EuroLeague level teams (or close to it) but likely the rest of the domestic league teams are much lower quality.

The more obscure countries like Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Finland etc. might have a Eurocup level team or two and the rest of the domestic league can be pretty poor.

The Top Leagues in Europe right now are:
Euroleague (loads of ex-NBA and near NBA players - Pangos, Daye etc.)
EuroCup (winners feed into the EuroLeague)
FIBA European Champions League (A rival league)

Tough to rank the domestic leagues but Spain's ACB seems the top league and then after that you can throw the First Divisions of Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Turkey into that second tier.

Think of it like the NCAA with all the different conferences as domestic leagues. The WCC, like Lithuania's domestic league may be sub par, but Gonzaga/Zalgiris are the big fish within their pond who can hang with the big fish of other ponds. Instead of a March Madness tourney all the best Euro teams play in separate "cross conference" leagues as well (EuroLeague, EuroCup etc.).

Mojo, I really appreciate your thoughtful, smart posts! You always bring something special to the topic. How did you get so knowledgeable?

Hah...thanks. I have a very specific interest in Team Canada basketball. The last decade or so I have followed our better players from highschool through their pro careers. For that reason I have been hanging around here for the Sacre, Pangos, Olynyk, Arop, Wiltjer years and this board and GU has grown on me to the point that GU is bar far my favorite team even in the absence of big names Canadians (no offense to Triano!). Let's get some more recruits in here! Ignas Brazdeikis is the top of my list. He has a 4-year GU look written all over him!

Following KP's career in Europe has gotten me much more familiar with the leagues over there, but it is an ongoing learning process. It really has only been the last couple years I have tried to figure out the Euro leagues as so many good Canadians have been pouring through the NCAA recently. I follow the career's of many other Canucks plying their trade in Europe as well like - Melvin Ejim (Iowa St.), Khem Birch (UNLV), Dyshawn Pierre (Dayton), Andy Rautins (Syracuse), Kris Joseph (Syracuse), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Devoe Jospeh (Oregon), Daniel Mullins (MNSU) and now Anthony Bennett! (UNLV). That gives me a load of leagues/countries to try to figure out - I am no expert, but I am starting to get some basic understanding.

Kyle has resigned with Trier for the coming season, per this story, translated below via Google Translator:

RÖMERSTROM Gladiator's Trier extend with Kyle Dranginis

The RÖMERSTROM Gladiators Trier continue to rely on Guard Kyle Dranginis in the new season. The American signs a contract for another season and will go for basketball in the 18/19 season for the gladiators.

Dranginis is looking forward to another year on the Mosel: "I feel very well in the team. Last year something has grown together and I am convinced that we will be very successful in the coming season. Another factor is that Christian Held is now head coach. We had very good conversations and his expectations of me coincide with my personal goals. I want to offensively take even more responsibility, especially in important situations make even better decisions. I want to work with the team in the coming season ".

The Guard had in the past season, especially at the beginning already indicate its potential. After an injury had put him out of action, the Americans played a solid season and was especially in the playoffs, one of the key players on the court. This is also the numbers, the 25-year-old had launched. With 9.5 points, 2.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals, he was one of the top performers under Marco van den Berg.

For coach Christian Held, the development of Kyle Dranginis is far from over: "Kyle is an important player for us, who brings a lot of overview on the offensive and can use his teammates well. In addition, he does many things that are not reflected in the statistics sheet. We know what skills he has and we want to help him reach his full potential. "

The Guard, who also wears the back number 2 in the upcoming season, is currently in the US, recovering from a minor ankle surgery. At the beginning of the pre-season, Dranginis is expected to return to the Moselle. For Achim Schmitz, the whereabouts of the American are far from self-evident. "We are proud that Kyle feels at home here and sees a good sporting perspective for himself. He had other good offers as well, which does not surprise us with his quality. He has knocked out in favor of the RÖMERSTROM Gladiators. We are convinced that he is able to take more responsibility on the floor. Kyle will give us a lot of pleasure, "concludes the director of the gladiators.

Dranginis Update

"[Kyle] just wrapped his fourth season playing professional basketball overseas — the third with the ROMERSTROM Gladiators Trier where he’s their starting shooting guard. ... He signed his first professional contract with SISU Copenhagen of the top league in Denmark in September 2016. Dranginis averaged 14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists a game to lead the team to the league semifinals and was named to the Danish Team of the Year. Dranginis then signed with the Gladiators Trier in Germany’s second division in May 2017 and has been there ever since.

"You figure out if you actually love the game or not when you go overseas," Dranginis said. "There's different lifestyles, being home sick and all that kind of stuff. I'm not making NBA money at all. But a lot of people don't get to say they play in different countries and play basketball for their job. So it's fun for me. I know I don't have many years left, so I'm just trying to enjoy and take in all the experiences while I can."

But this season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dranginis played his final game on March 8. Three days later, the season was canceled. He got one of the final flights back to the United States on March 21 before travel bans were put into place. Dranginis is currently in the middle of a 14-day self-quarantine at his grandfather’s house in Meridian[, Idaho]."

Trier is a beautiful city in German wine country. It was a key outpost of the Roman Empire and has a lot of Roman landmarks that have endured to this day. It mixes the flavor of both cultures. It’s surrounded by gorgeous vineyards and wineries.

I’d love to get paid to play basketball in a place like that for a few years.